We Don't Say Goodbye
by VinnyLB
Summary: At the end of their journey, Zee reflects on the past year with Ro and on what he's supposed to do now that he has his freedom.


**_We Don't Say Goodbye_****by Vanessa**

Summary: At the end of their journey, Zee reflects on the past year with Ro and on what he's supposed to do now that he has his freedom.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Zeta Project, Robert Goodman and all the nice people at Warner Bros. do, and they're doing a great job! This story was originally a songfic for Celine Dion's "Immortality." The lyrics have been removed due to ffnet's new rules, but the original version will be posted at tzpnosis dot com soon.

"Didn't I tell you that we'd get you your freedom?"

I nodded slowly and smiled down at Ro. Our journey, our quest for my freedom had just come to an end. Doctor Selig defended my innocence and let it be known that I had been built to evolve beyond my programming in the first place. He got in trouble with the government for that, but it didn't really matter to him. And I had my freedom. Finally, no more running...

Ro had changed a lot during the year that she had been traveling with me. She was slightly taller, her hair a little longer, but it was her personality that had changed the most. She wasn't as materialistic; somehow, my unlimited cred card didn't impress her as much anymore. Why then, I wondered, did she stick around?

"Yes, and now I have my freedom... thanks to you," I said with a smile. "And you have your family. So where will you go from here?"

She looked away from me for a moment. Clearly, she had dreaded this day as much as I had-- the day that our adventure would end and we would go our separate ways. It occurred to me a few months after we met that as much as I tried to convince her to stay behind, I didn't want to leave her. To lose Ro would be unthinkable.

"I'm going back to my family." She sounded almost sad, which I thought was odd; she had been overjoyed the first time she met her parents and her brother. "I'm going to have a normal life... live in a house, go to high school, do normal teenager things and never have to worry about running from the feds again." She smirked, but there was none of her usual happiness in the expression. "It's going to be so boring."

I nodded. Our exciting, dangerous, action-packed story had come to a rather anticlimactic end. I was glad to have my freedom, of course, but sad that all this was coming to an end. Ro was right... It had been fun.

"What about you, Zee? Where will you go?"

"I honestly don't know yet. I hadn't thought about it that much... I suppose I'll continue traveling, now that I know the NSA isn't following me. But it won't be the same without you."

Then, to my surprise, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "Good luck, Zee..."

"Good luck, Zee." With those words, and with the five hundred creds that I had given her, Ro left. Back then, it wasn't as hard letting her go, but I had only known her for a few hours. I knew she wouldn't be back... She had her money, and she didn't want to get in trouble with the NSA, so why would she come back? But she did. I had no idea why she came back, but she did, and nothing I said or did after that could make her leave. After a while, I didn't mind.

A few times, when her life was in danger, I tried to leave her behind. When she was caught in Infiltration Unit 7's blasts and knocked unconscious, for example. She wouldn't let me go on without her. She said it was fun, and I didn't understand at the time. I do now.

Once, it seemed that we had found her family. If Ro had appeared on that television show, the NSA would have found us both. By leaving, I eliminated the danger to her... After all, why would the NSA want Ro if I were no longer with her? When I learned that she had been tricked and the show was fake, I went back. I had to be there for her. She acted tough, as she always did, but I knew that she was devastated. She told me I was the only family that she needed. I learned something new that day. I needed Ro as well. I needed her help to win my freedom, to keep the agents from catching me, to learn how to be human...

But there was something else.

I don't understand my programming. I don't understand how I could suddenly reject all the codes inside my positronic brain and decide that I didn't want to kill. I don't understand how I can evolve, or why I have certain emotions. And I definitely don't understand what part of my programming allowed me to feel the way I do about Ro. I am not sure how to describe it, but I believe I love her.

Ro kissed me on the cheek and then backed away slowly, looking more sad than I had ever seen her. I couldn't stand seeing her that way. "I'll miss you," she whispered, and I could see tears in her eyes. She turned from me and walked away. She was leaving, and this time, she wouldn't be back.

As she got farther away, I reached up and touched my own cheek, near the spot she had kissed. It was wet. At first, I had no idea why... then it occurred to me. Ro had been crying... and now, so was I. But how?

Suddenly, I realized exactly how much I needed Ro. Not only was she my best friend and the only family I've ever known, but she was also the key to my humanity. She was the one I fought to protect, she was the one who had taught me the meaning of fun, family, and finally, love. She was the reason that I was crying when it was supposed to be impossible. I had won my freedom, but my quest wasn't over. I had a new goal... to become more human. And Ro would be the one to help me.

"Ro!" She was too far away by that time... She couldn't hear me. I wasn't ready to let her go that easily, though, so using the superhuman speed that comes with being a government robot, I quickly caught up to her and reached out to her, putting my hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and I could see that she hadn't stopped crying. "I never let you go before," I told her. "And I'm not going to now."

"But... I can't go with you, Zee. Not this time. I have to go back to my family..."  
"I know. And I'm going with you."

Slowly, her sad expression turned into a wide grin, and I smiled back and dried her tears away with my hand. "Zee... You have your freedom. What do you need me for?"

"This is not just about my freedom," I answered. "I can't let you go. You mean too much to me. There's a reason that I always come back to you, and I think I know what it is. I love you, Ro."

She stared at me for a long time, and I wondered if I had said the wrong thing... But then, she smiled and tilted her head up towards mine. "I love you, too, Zee," she whispered, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and hugged her, and this time, I wasn't going to let her go.

END


End file.
